Chen Luo: So You're the Thirteenth Herrscher, You Motherf-? (Continued)

Even though I made a mistake, didn't Chen Luo make even the slightest mistake?

"Nonsense, I just started my summer vacation after being a sophomore in high school!" Chen Luo immediately denied.

Chen Luo really wasn't lying; Chen Luo really is just a 17-year-old boy.

Chen Luo wasn't very accepting of this slander, especially seeing Raven's amused expression, which made Chen Luo even angrier.

I might fake that I'm only 17 years old in the future, just like that shameless old hag Yakumo Yukari.

But I am truly a vibrant and youthful 17 years old now.

Damn it, why does nobody believe the truth anymore? This is so strange.

"You said the same thing 50,000 years ago," the Grey Serpent added.

"Shut up!" Chen Luo roared.

You're the one who framed me as a 50,000-year-old man, you damned 50,000-year-old man.

You're over 50,000 years old and still jumping around every day... wait, Fu Hua is also over 50,000 years old, right?

That's alright then.

"Okay." The Grey Serpent wisely shut its mouth.

"Hmph!" Seeing Chen Luo's current predicament, Raven, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but laugh.

That's why you deducted my work points.

What goes around comes around; no one escapes the wrath of Heaven.

"Alright, alright, stop laughing, or I'll dock your pay. I'm a boss, show me some respect," Chen Luo said helplessly to Raven.

"Seriously? You're going to deduct from this too? That's going too far!" Raven instantly put on a blank expression.

Controlling one's facial expressions is a required course for many mercenaries, especially for someone like Raven who has run a bar; a smiling demeanor and a forceful approach are both necessary.

"No, I was just teasing you," Chen Luo said.

To make a worthless virtual currency more convincing, market rules must be strictly followed.

At the very least, arbitrarily reducing the amount of virtual currency the other party possesses is something that cannot be done.

Although Chen Luo didn't have a deep understanding of economics, he still knew this basic common sense.

"Then why do you care about me?" Raven sneered.

"But next time you make a wish, I'll give you some extra work points as appropriate," Chen Luo said quietly.

"...Okay, I'll shut up." Raven said and then really shut up.

After all, putting everything else aside, this move is really effective.

Chen Luo doesn't arbitrarily deduct work points, which makes Raven very happy, but Raven is very unhappy that Chen Luo might raise prices to fulfill his wish.

But the Raven couldn't say anything.

After all, even if these work points are not used to fulfill wishes, they can still be exchanged for $200. So Chen Luo could say: If you don't want to fulfill your wishes, you can just exchange them for money.

Raven felt that it was a waste to simply convert these work points into US dollars.

"Alright, Raven, you can go out now. I'd like to speak with Mr. Chen Luo alone for a few minutes," Grey Serpent said after the argument between Chen Luo and Raven had temporarily subsided.

"Chen Luo, you..." Raven had no desire to investigate the strange way Grey Serpent addressed Chen Luo; Raven just looked at Chen Luo with some concern.

To be fair, if Raven considered Chen Luo a friend, he wouldn't dare leave Chen Luo alone in a room with Gray Snake, since who knows what Grey Serpent might do.

"Alright, don't worry about me. At least you don't need to worry about my safety. I don't have many other strengths, but I'm fast." Chen Luo smiled and said, sensing the concern from the Raven through his Herrscher of Knowledge ability.

"We can't ignore this. After all, if you're gone, I'll have to pay for Little Kong and the others' travel expenses myself. Bringing them here will cost a lot of money," Raven said with a reluctant expression.

"Go away, go away." Chen Luo waved his hand dismissively.

After taking one last look at Chen Luo, Raven walked to the door and closed it behind her.

However, even after the Raven was taken out the door, it did not leave but instead leaned against the wall next to the door and waited.

"I never said anything about Raven having to Raven his own travel expenses or anything like that, hehe." Grey Serpent chuckled after watching Raven leave.

If Raven knew that Grey Serpent had dismantled his platform the moment he left, I wonder what he would think.

Most of the time, if we disregard Grey Serpent's arrogance and ruthlessness, he could be considered a rather "refined" person.

These are Raiden Mei's exact words, and they are true.

However, it is clear that this is not the case "most of the time".

"The Tsundere script isn't popular anymore; it's been abandoned by the times. Well, of course, I'm not so narcissistic as to think the other person actually likes me. It's more like a mercenary friendship." Chen Luo said lazily before floating to a chair and sitting down.

"The Doctor, you underestimate your own personal charm."

"Don't try to get close to me, I don't know you, and besides, I don't have any personal charm." After Raven left, Chen Luo still maintained an "who are you?" attitude.

Chen Luo's reaction wasn't entirely wrong, after all, Chen Luo was truly the first time he had ever seen Grey Serpent; he had only ever seen them in novels, games, or photographs before.

So strictly speaking, Chen Luo is not wrong.

"Is that so? Is that what you think? Then let's assume that's the case." Grey Serpent didn't refute Chen Luo on just one point.

As for whether it's true or not?

Anyway, that's not the case for the Grey Serpent.

This the Doctor will always appear instantly when someone makes a wish, and will sincerely help you overcome the difficulties you face. However, sometimes the way he accomplishes this will be very unexpected.

When you have no desire for help, the other party is unlikely to take advantage of your misfortune, and may even occasionally offer assistance.

But if you have no desire and are really reckless... then you're doomed.

Wait a minute, did I just undermine the other person?

Should I try posting a wish to avoid getting beaten up?

Grey Serpent, who had a strange understanding of Chen Luo, fell into deep thought.

[Ding! You have a new request!]

"???" Chen Luo looked at the request, which not only had a strange name but also very strange requirements, and was completely dumbfounded.

What is this Grey Serpent thinking about all day long?

Oh well, I'll let it go for the sake of 100 Primogem and 100 crystals...

[Ding! Mission complete]

Ah, what a strange request.

However, Chen Luo found the Grey Serpent much more pleasing to the eye.

At least this kid gave me some Primogem.

As for the other party's actions over the past 50,000 years, Chen Luo had little grounds to refute them.

Firstly, Chen Luo did not live for 50,000 years, so he could not understand the obsessions that someone who had lived for 50,000 years would have.

Secondly, Chen Luo knew that, at least in the early stages when the Grey Serpent wanted to gradually become human, all of the Grey Serpent's actions were driven by human desires.

Whether it's Grey Serpent forming a religion or establishing a mysterious organization, these are all choices made by Grey Serpent based on the wishes of others.

Ultimately, it was humans who bred the Grey Serpent.

Moreover, no matter what, Grey Serpent is still the unsung leader of World Serpent. As one of the three major organizations resisting Honkai, World Serpent has never been seen doing anything horrible, but its goal is still to resist Honkai.

Despite how incompetent these three organizations may be internally, they are ultimately organizations that resist the Honkai.

Oh, except for Cocolia.

Like Kevin, although he wanted to carry out the Stigmata Project, you can't deny that he is a savior on another level of concept.

They're just a little obsessed.

All the ways to resist the Honkai and save humanity cannot be said to be wrong; they are simply different paths.

Except for Cocolia.

Cocolia has done all sorts of bad things.

Wait, she's her own doll now? Oh, never mind.

No, wait a minute. I seem to be the strongest fighter in the Honkai side right now.

So, for me, are Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, and World Serpent hostile forces?

But now all the mechs of Anti-Entropy are in his hands, so he can be considered 0.1 of the Anti-Entropy Leader.

Who knows, he might even become the leader of Schicksal in the future.

emmm...

I'm hitting myself?

Grey Serpent looked at Chen Luo, who had suddenly fallen into deep thought for some reason, and seemed not to be surprised at all.

Having a lot of inner monologues remains one of the characteristics of this the Doctor.

Just like Cosmo.

Oh, no, it's at least a bit stronger Cosmo.

"The Doctor, Raven must have taken you all over the World Serpent, right? What do you think of the World Serpent's development these days?" Grey Serpent asked softly, seeing that Chen Luo seemed to have finished his search.

"Don't call me the Doctor. We're not familiar with each other. I've told you so many times. You've mistaken me for someone else," Chen Luo subconsciously denied.

I've already said that I'm forever a 17-year-old minor.

It's okay if I don't add it, I'm 17 anyway. Don't make me sound like some ancient witch.

"Well... Mr. Chen Luo, what do you think of the development of World Serpent now?" Grey Serpent readily changed his tune.

"It's developing quite well. It possesses almost all the high technology of both Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, but it also has something that the other side doesn't have, and it has developed its own path. Despite being the oldest organization, it has hardly been noticed by Schicksal and Anti-Entropy. It has been quietly developing, and finally appeared as the big boss. It's a fairly orthodox villain formula."

"However, despite being the oldest organization, it doesn't have a single powerful figure who can truly command respect. It's not fair to say it's in decline. This is probably the path of development you've always hoped for."

"The way you constantly plant seeds of dissent within countless organizations, only to make a sudden appearance just as the final storm is about to break, is quite in line with your personality."

"Unfortunately, what is most surprising is that despite being an organization that has developed for so many years, it still cannot completely overwhelm Schicksal and Anti-Entropy in terms of direct strength."

"It can't be said that the path is wrong. It seems to prove a point: there are no dynasties that last for a thousand years, but there are families that last for a thousand years. If you put your strength out in the open, you may achieve peak development, but it always feels easier to crash and burn."

"However, regardless of the circumstances, it's truly remarkable that you've managed to develop the World Serpent to this extent without possessing the Void Archive, a crystallization of Previous Era wisdom."

The difference in development difficulty between having Void Archive and not having Void Archive is quite significant.

It's like an ordinary modern person traveling to ancient times. They might have modern thoughts and know about modern things, but they can't bring everything from modern times to ancient times.

Even someone as exceptional as Grey Serpent could not possibly bring all the technology of a Previous Era to the initial stage of the next civilization.

The one who actually carried out the Seed Project was Fu Hua.

From another perspective, the World Serpent has always evolved with the times, and perhaps it made this choice only after realizing the failure of the Seed Project.

Although the Grey Serpent possesses advanced ideas influenced by the highly developed technology of the previous civilization, it is indeed quite difficult for it to single-handedly lift up the entire World Serpent.

At least an ordinary person couldn't do it.

An ordinary person who travels back to ancient times might not even survive three days, let alone develop anything.

"That's quite a harsh assessment, but it's also fairly accurate." Grey Serpent couldn't deny the accuracy of Chen Luo's evaluation.

"The fact that the oldest organization is now hiding in the shadows does seem like the behavior of a villainous organization, but that's exactly my style."

"While one could argue that Schicksal, though powerful, is a target for trouble, the lack of widespread combat strength remains a major weakness. But isn't concealing your strength and remaining hidden in the shadows your favorite strategy? And as it turns out, these strategies are indeed quite effective. After all, only those who persevere to the end are the winners," Grey Serpent said.

"I told you, don't try to claim any connection. I don't know you. But what you said makes a lot of sense." Chen Luo nodded.

The World Serpent's confidence never stems from this so-called power, but from the Lord who still drifts in the Sea of Quantum.

The so-called World Serpent was merely a tool used by that lord to eliminate unnecessary trouble.

It doesn't need to be too big, just big enough.

That's why the World Serpent have cadres.

For true core personnel, only elites are needed.